Cloudflare recently introduced a new content management system called EmDash. Similar to WordPress, EmDash supports extension through plugins, allows users to use templates to create various types of websites, and provides an administration interface. However, EmDash also offers compatibility with serverless computing and enhances security by utilizing the TypeScript language with static types and isolating plugins in separate sandbox environments.
EmDash is written in TypeScript and built using the web framework Astro. The project is distributed under the MIT license. Cloudflare highlighted that AI agents were involved in the development process, enabling the quick creation of the product within two months.
EmDash can operate within Cloudflare’s infrastructure or on individual servers using Node.js. Users have the option to use SQLite, Turso/libSQL, or PostgreSQL as the database management system, and can utilize AWS S3, S3-compatible systems, or a local file system for storage. Session information can be stored using Redis or a file system.
The new system aims to address existing issues with WordPress by leveraging modern tools. Problems with WordPress include the challenges of managing code in two languages (PHP and JavaScript), the need for multi-level caches to achieve performance, and an insecure plugin architecture responsible for 96% of vulnerabilities on the platform.